Jeppe seek victory in derby fixture against the Reds

In the context of sport, “derby day” refers to ”a specific day or occasion when two local or regional teams with a long-standing rivalry face each other in a match or competition.”

Some prominent derbies in different sporting codes include Liverpool vs Everton, Manchester United vs Manchester City and The Stormers vs The Bulls.

In a South African school sports context derbies exist due to the close proximity of one school to another or something as trivial as the school across the train-track or the school down the road.

Derby games don’t get much bigger than this. An exciting weekend is in store for Johannesburg as two of its oldest schools come face-to-face again for their second fixture of the season. King Edward VII, travel dwon the road to take on their oldest rivals Jeppe High School for Boys.

Catch all the action live on SuperSport Schools (www.supersportschools.com).

Last weekend saw KES beat Pretoria Boys High School 32-23 away in Pretoria, and Jeppe climbed into Parktown Boys’ High School to give them a 50-19 mauling. Both teams will have their sights set on winning this important classic clash.

Over the past 10 years, the Red Army have a slightly better record having won six times, Jeppe winning four and only one match playing out to a draw. In the last encounter KES snuck through with a 23-20 win at home, in what was a nail-biting finish. The last three matches played between these two giants, have ended up being wins for KES by less than a margin of three points.

Captain Thandolwethu Biyela led from the front last weekend against Pretoria Boys High School, scoring the opening try of the match. The big flanker, was recently named in the South African u18 squad which is set to face England and France in the coming months.

James Kabrowisky makes his way back into the KES line-up in place of flanker Siya Radebe, alongside lock Andrew Engelbrecht, who comes in for Tyron Smith. 

The KES forward pack was driven by Siphosethu Mnebelele, who will need to make sure that he reigns in his temper as last weekend he allowed his emotions to get the better of him resulting in an unnecessary yellow card during a crucial part of the match. 

For Jeppe Sanele Shabangu misses out, while McMillen Mongwana makes a return to the starting XV after coming off the bench during last weekends clash against Parktown. The outside center was carrying a niggle last weekend but was quick to capitalize on his opportunity scoring a fantastic try for his side.

A potential clash between the scrumhalves, could make for some interesting viewing, both Bryce Samuel (Jeppe) and Ruan Van Rensburg (KES) are diminutive in size, but play with their heart proudly on their sleeves. Expect a few words to be said when these two players feed the ball into the powerful scrumming pack. 

Based on the current records King Edward VII would fancy themselves as favorites going into this fixture, but Jeppe have shown during the season that they are as strong as any of the top sides. The black and white know how to pack a punch and their forwards have been able to keep up with the likes of Affies.

Derby’s come with a lot of hype, add the fact that the season is drawing closer to an end, expect there to be some hard and exciting rugby to unfold. The local pride and bragging rights associated with winning a derby match make it a special and memorable occasion for both the players and coaches alike.

The teams:

Jeppe High School for Boys: 15 Khuthadzo Rasivhaga, 14 Thulani Tshabalala, 13 McMillen Mongwana, 12 Exauce Kevani, 11 Bokamoso Maphisa, 10 Matthew Coetzee, 9 Bryce Samuel, 8 Mosiki Ndlaba, 7 Sean Mills, 6 Lesedi Masemola, 5 Luke Cannon, 4 Risima Khosa, 3 Luca Trevisan, 2 Kaleb Burger, 1 Ricardo Brandao.

King Edward VII: 15 Tristan Maugeri, 14 Caleb Lombard, 13 Olunje Mehlomakulu, 12 Tirhani Masondo, 11 Timi Oluwole, 10 Vusi Moyo, 9 Ruan Van Rensburg, 8 Kebotile Maake, 7 Thandolwethu Biyela, 6 James Kabrowisky , 5 Andrew Engelbrecht, 4 Thomas Beling, 3 Joshua Aube, 2 Siphosethu Mnebelele, 1 Lesedi Moloi.

Fixtures:

u15A: 9:00 (Collard Field)

u14A: 10:00 (Jake White Field)

u16A: 11:00 (Collard Field)

u19B: 12:15 (Collard Field)

u19A: 13:45  (Collard Field)